Family Medicine Emergency Medicine

Program Description

The University of Calgary CCFP-EM program adheres to the standards and objectives of the CFPC. The Program Director and Program Administration is based in offices at the Foothills Medical Centre; However, residents participate in clinical care at four tertiary-care hospitals in Calgary, and at regional hospitals in Banff, Lethbridge, Red Deer and other sites in sub-urban and rural Alberta as desired. 

Highlights and Strengths of the CCFP EM Program

  1. The Calgary Zone Emergency Department is an integrated group of over 250 full-time emergency physicians. The Calgary Zone ED is the largest regionalized department of emergency medicine in Canada, with over 300,000 visits a year to the region’s four adult hospitals and one pediatric facility. This allows the program to draw from a large pool of preceptors with many areas of sub-specialty expertise such as additions, critical care, sports medicine, palliative care, POCUS, and leadership/administration.
  2. Calgary EM residents perform clinical rotations at  all four adult EDs and the Alberta Children’s Hospital, with approximately half of all clinical shifts taking place at the Foothills Medical Centre (FMC), which is the regional trauma and cardiac referral centre. Unlike other Emergency Departments across Canada, all ED MDs in Calgary are considered "Trauma Team Leaders" and therefore lead all of the Level 1 trauma cases at FMC. The CCFP-EM trainees will have an opportunity to be TTL when working with their preceptors. If extra training with a focused trauma rotation is requested by the trainee this can be arranged with elective time.
  3. Calgary's CCFP-EM program enjoys a collaborative and integrated relationship with the FRCP-EM program. Most academic half days are shared, with resources and teaching programs being combined including Grand Rounds, Journal Clubs, didactic teaching, retreats, and many more activities. This provides many opportunities for professional and extracurricular collaboration, social networking, as well as setting up a positive working relationship as residents transition into attending staff.
  4. Calgary's EM programs are uniquely resourced to provide nation-leading education: the University of Calgary Postgraduate Medical Education department provides considerable funding for teaching development, educational leadership, resource acquisition, and professional development. This allows us to surround our learners with dedicated and highly supported professional educators to enhance the residency experience.

Canadian Forces / Department of National Defence candidates are welcome to apply at any point during the year. We have been proud to support our colleagues in the DND and will make unique accommodations and a tailored learning experience for interested parties. Please contact the Program Director if you are a service-member interested in this pathway.

Timeline

The year is comprised of 13 four-week blocks: (subject to change, annually)

  • Emergency Medicine – 8 blocks (5 adult, 1 pediatric, 1 Banff and 1 additional rural selective)
  • ICU – 1 block
  • CCU – 1 block
  • Anesthesia – 1 block (2 weeks adult, 2 weeks pediatric)
  • Toxicology – 0.5 block
  • Ophthalmology – 1 week
  • Elective – 1 block

The EM blocks include Pediatric Emergency Medicine at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, and four weeks at the Banff Mineral Springs Hospital, where there is robust opportunity for exposure to orthopedics and sports medicine presentations. The Lethbridge Regional Hospital offers excellent teaching in a regional centre and a satellite site of the CCFP-EM Program. Starting in 2025, Lethbridge will offer 1-2 CCFP-EM trainees per year. Application to the Lethbridge program is done through an independent CaRMS match. 

Changes to the block schedule occur regularly to accommodate learner life circumstances, special career interests, particular learning needs, or where rotations have been completed in the past.

Academic Days

All Thursdays in the program are protected throughout the year, including during off-service rotations, to provide value-added emergency medicine teaching. Academic days include weekly Grand Rounds (attended typically by over 100 resident and staff physicians) presentations which are provided by both residents and staff. The academic full days are shared and done in conjunction with the FRCP residency, which is considered a major advantage of the program. Residents are mentored and supported by senior residents in the Royal College residency.

Curriculum

  1. Formal written and oral exam preparation is a focus of the Calgary CCFP-EM program. This is accomplished with a formal reading schedule, monthly formative written exams, and quarterly in-person or virtually simulated mock oral exams, curated by our in-house exam experts to maximize success for the CCFP-EM examination.
  2. CCFP-EM are exposed to more complex ECG topics via ECG small groups, which are taught by an ECG CCFP-EM staff expert, approximately bi-monthly. 
  3. Longitudinal SIM Program: developed specifically for CCFP-EM residents, led by SIM-educational experts, occurring on a monthly basis.
  4. Casting Workshop: provided by Registered Orthopedic Technicians to cover common casts and splints in the ED.
  5. Monthly Journal Club: done in conjunction with FRCP program, hosted at the home of an attending physician.
  6. Multiple hands-on airway courses during the year, equivalent or similar to AIME .
  7. POCUS curriculum: includes standard "EDE1" equivalency course, scanning days (where needed), as well as advanced POCUS teaching to cover common topics such as gallbladder, lung, DVT, etc. Every effort is made to offer CPOCUS Independent Practitioner designation at no cost if desired.
  8. Vascular access course and Advanced Procedures Labs: done in conjunction with FRCP residents.
  9. Longitudinal Preceptor: Each resident is paired with a longitudinal preceptor who will work with them at least 3-4 shifts per ED block, providing them with mentorship, feedback, and advocacy as the resident traverses through a challenging and demanding fellowship year.
  10. Transition to practice curriculum: insurance, licensing, personal finances, and all the things "we wish we had" when we were transitioning to practice.

Scholarly Project and Grand Rounds

All residents are supported in developing their own Grand Rounds to the entire Calgary Zone Department of Emergency Medicine. They are paired with an attending preceptor (including a specialist, where necessary). This is considered a highlight of the academic program and provides high visibility of the resident to the clinical department.

An academic/research project is also an integral part of the program. This project may be a small clinical trial, contribution to ongoing research, a quality improvement study, a case report with literature review, or a survey. All projects are presented in the Spring at Research Day, which is shared with the Calgary FRCPC program.

Other Info

The formal academic program is intensive and well organized. Each Thursday, residents attend an Academic Full Day, with Grand Rounds in the morning, followed by SIM / ECG / EBM teaching. In the afternoon, interactive and case-based teaching covers the entire curriculum of EM.

Journal Club is held monthly and includes a review with the staff of the latest literature, held at an attending physician's residence.

Residents usually organize a start-of-year retreat in BC for icebreaking activities. Time is usually protected for this. There is also an annual resident educational retreat in the Rocky Mountains during the winter, where wellness activities and program-level discussions are held. 

Residents are invited to an annual welcoming/end-of-the-year barbecue, Department Christmas party, and the annual Research Day. Numerous other social and academic events occur throughout the year.

Residents receive $500 for books or other education related tools. The University of Calgary provides additional funding for specific educational opportunities on a year to year basis which typically ranges from $500-1500 per year.